Pokemon, The Rise of the Chosen Three
by honeybuns24
Summary: Blake, Annabelle, and Brandon travel through the Hoenn region, 16 years after the last appearance of Jirachi, and Team Aqua and Magma's fall. Now, the two teams are starting to gain power once again. Our heroes get caught in the crossfire of the two teams, trying to stop the destructive ambitions of them. Rated M for my hilariously foul mouth.
1. Chapter 1

Episode one

The harsh light was an unwelcome reminder that Blake was late. He stood there, letting his eyes adjust. He was tall and skinny, his unkempt blonde hair bright in the summer sun. He carried one pokeball on a bracelet around his wrist, and had a heavy, durable pack upon his shoulders. His Bagon stood beside him, tugging at his cargo shorts to try and get him to move. He had just begun his pokemon journey, and he wanted to thank the one who set him on that path.

"Hurry up Akadra, we need to get to Rustboro by noon or we'll miss Roxanne." Blake voiced with equal amounts of excitement and apprehension. "If we don't make it in time we'll have to wait until tomorrow to tell her the good news."

"Bagon, bagon bay." she replied, still annoyed her farewells were cut short.

"Well, I could've just left you with your friends if you didn't want to say goodbye. Besides, this was your idea. Remember, I'm the reclusive one, not you. Geez, I'm not crazy because I can understand you. I'm crazy because I listen to your harebrained ideas."

A perplexed voice interjected, "Um, excuse me, may I ask how you get to Rustboro, I can see it, but someone took down the road signs."

An awkward silence followed, only to be broken by Akadra, "Gon, bagon baybagon." she said to Blake.

"What are you talking about, I wasn't staring! How come you always say stuff like that! You know people discomfort me so stop it!" said Blake, "Sorry about that. I'm heading to Rustboro if you need help getting there. That's a lovely outfit by the way, I really like the skirt. And again I'm really sorry about Akadra. I'm Blake by the way, what's your name?"

"Uhhhh, I'm Anika. Thanks for the offer but I remembered I have a map, bye."

As she walked away Akadra and Anika both commented, "Geez, what a weirdo. I'd never travel with that person." making sure it was unheard by the other though.

"Well, that was a glorious waste of time." said Blake to Akadra, "How about we ride to Rustboro on that big flat rock over there to save time. It'll be just like sledding. Sledding's fun, and it's only like a forty five degree slope."

Akadra shot a glance of utter disappointment and contempt at Blake.

"Fine you can walk, I'm taking the rock."

The rock careened halfway to Rustboro before hitting a small boulder and forcibly dismounting its passengers. Luckily, they made it another third of the way down before they finally came to a stop by the good grace of one of the larger trees.

"See, I knew it was a good idea." Blake sputtered as his nose bled profusely. "We didn't get hurt near as much as when tried to get that aspear berry back from that tentacool horde."

"Bagon, baybagon."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about the Sharpedos that attacked us after I scratched my face on that rock. Ah, good times."

"Gonbagon."

"Good idea. We'll sleep here, then go see Roxanne tomorrow. Oh, hi Anika, keep rocking that skirt."

As Akadra and Blake fell into unconsciousness, Anika hurried to Rustboro, now even more worried about her psychiatry appointment.

(I would deeply appreciate it if you left a review, thanks. And this first one's started out as just a character run. It gets way better as you progress.)


	2. Chapter 2

Episode 2

Awaking to a cry of distress, we find our hero Blake, covered in blood at the bottom of a tree. His Bagon Akadra is looming over him expectantly.

"Aw man I did it again. Why do I always pass out before I stop the really bad nosebleeds? Now I'll be coughing up blood for the next week and everyone will avoid me like I have TB."

"Why are you giving me that look Akadra? I don't actually have TB."

"BAGON BAGON!"

"Oh yeah, cry of distress, I should probably check that out." he remarks casually, and then dashes off in the direction of the outcry, with Bagon close behind. They run into a small outcrop of trees and as they emerge on the other side they see the source the scream. A girl, about 14, like Blake, was shielding her Combusken from a swarm of Taillow. She had light brown hair that fell to her waist, and she was quite beautiful, even in the dire situation. She was obviously strong, with small but accentuated muscles. She wasn't short, but she also wasn't tall, and her curves were very average for her size. Blake watched as she threw kicks and punches with incredible fluidity. There was great power and form behind her attacks, showing she had trained hard to be a fighter, and her punches showed this training, knocking some unfortunate Taillow into the dirt. Luckily for the others, they were fast enough to dodge most of her punches, and the ones that did hit usually barely grazed them..

"Bagon" Akadra said accusingly.

"What is it with you?! I'm not staring! It's not even the same girl!" Blake yelled at Akadra, causing the Taillows to lose interest in the girl, in favor of bomb diving Blake.

"See, look what you did. You should just be glad I can tell what they're saying."

"Taillow tay tay taitaillow." replied the Taillow swarm, nearing Blake at breakneck speed.

Calmly and quickly, Blake removed his backpack, and produced a strange looking pokeball. He threw it into the air and a mass of oran berries spilled out of it. As the fruit fell through the air, the Taillow plucked them from the sky and then flew off into the trees. Only one oran berry even touched the ground. As the Taillow departed into the forest, Akadra grabbed the berry, and ran over to the injured Combusken, placing it at its feet.

The Combusken's trainer slumped to her knees, and promptly passed out, quickly followed by her Combusken, despite the oran berry it consumed.

"Hey Akadra, I just had a great idea, you see that flat rock with the indent in it where it probably hit a small boulder as it careened down this hillside? We should totally use it as a sled to get to Rustboro city."

Akadra was just about to headbutt Blake in the gut, when she recalled the unconscious heaps that they also had to lug to the pokemon center. She settled on bathing his head in a tsunami of flames.

"I'll take that as a no." Blake replied, not even fazed. "Remind me to help you practice your flamethrower when we get to Rustboro.

As the duo started trekking down the slope, the blacked out pokemon and trainer riding piggy back style, you could hardly hear the forest's peaceful serenity over the bickering of Blake and Akadra, much less the slow rumble of Team Aqua's submarine beaching along the shore.

They arrived in Rustboro with no further troubles, but it was now early evening, and Blake had accepted that he'd have to wait another week to see Roxanne. When they arrived at the Pokemon Center they didn't understand Nurse Joy's horrified expression, or their uncanny good luck that the center was empty.

"Dear god, what in Zapdos' thunder happened to you?" Nurse Joy exclaimed, losing her composure in light of the unconscious trainer and pokemon being carried by a Bagon and a flame broiled boy with blood covering his face. Unfortunately it did not occur to her that it was just a bad bloody nose from riding a slab of slate that suddenly ejected its passengers.

"Well first we fell off a rock into a tree and I woke up and ran and then we saw these Taillow and then Bagon used flame…" Blake began to say, until the exertion and anemia cause him to black out once again.

"Bagon bay bagon." Akadra said, which when translated meant, "Well I hope this doesn't become a trend."

Luckily she didn't pass out as well, but everyone was rushed to the intensive care unit. Nurse Joy and Chansey had a busy night, and Chansey's was much harder under the sarcastic berating of Akadra. But, everyone was alright, and they slept calmly and safely in the rooms above the Pokemon Center.


	3. Chapter 3

Episode 3

Roxanne dashed into the Pokecenter. The brisk morning rays gleaming golden through its windows. Nurse Joy woke abruptly from her post at the front desk, mumbling a "Welcome, how may I help you?"

"Nurse Joy, I came as soon as I heard." said Roxanne, "Where is she?"

Still groggy, Nurse Joy paused in thought for a moment, then answered, "Oh, Annabelle. Yeah, she's in room 212."

"Thanks Joy, you're a lifesaver." Roxanne called back as she ran up the stairs.

"Wait!" Joy called after too late, "Ah whatever, I'll tell her about the other kid when she gets back down."

The knock on the door woke Annabelle from her slumber, and, remembering the Taillow swarm, she quickly punched as many things as possible, including the decorative hard stone arrangement in her room.

"Fucking A!" she exclaimed, before being snapped back to reality by a second knock.

"One second!" she yelled while extricating herself from her bed covers. She walked over to the door. The familiar face of Roxanne shown through as Annabelle swung the door open.

"Annabelle, how are you? I heard someone helped you get back here. What happened? Are you okay?"

"What?" Annabelle answered, now thoroughly confused, "All I remember is Combusken and I getting attacked by a group of Taillow. Wait, where's Combusken?"

She began to dash out of the room, but Roxanne stopped her. "It's okay. Combusken's resting. Nurse Joy took care of both of you. Now, what happened with those Taillow?"

"Well, we were taking a break for lunch because we saw these nice berry trees." Annabelle began, "And we got halfway through lunch when all of a sudden the Taillows started dive bombing Combusken and I. They took most of our food while we were fighting them, but we just couldn't beat them; there were too many. All of a sudden, this weird kid shows up out of nowhere with a Bagon. He screamed at the Taillow and they started to attack him. Then there was a flash and they all flew off. I blacked out after that. Next thing I knew I was punching a rock garden."

"It's a good thing that boy showed up." Roxanne replied, "Most people aren't as lucky. I'm sorry I forgot to warn you about the Taillow and how they're very protective of their food. But what I don't get is why they're this close to the city; usually they're much farther away. I'll have to check that out sometime. Anyways, you must be tired; I'll let you get back to sleep. When Combusken wakes up I'll be sure to send him up to you."

"Thanks Roxanne, it was very kind of you to drop by." Annabelle said, quietly shutting the door as she retreated back to her bed.

"I wonder who that boy was, I'll need to thank him if I ever see him again." she thought. "He was kind of weird though, oh, who am I kidding. I was being attacked. Anyone would seem weird in that situation."

As she thought, a calm wave of drowsiness fell upon her, sending her into a refreshing sleep.

Roxanne walked down the stairs, still exasperated by the morning's events. As the adrenaline wore off and the smell of coffee wafted across her nose, she remembered how tired she truly was.

"Hey Roxy." Nurse Joy voiced in greeting. "I made you a cup as well. I don't have many people come in in the morning so why don't we sit down and chat?"

Knowing it was more of a command than an invitation; Roxanne wisely crossed over to one of the coffee tables and began her chat with Joy.

"Ya know, you should be resting up too. You probably stayed up half the night taking care of that kid."

"Well, I won't say you're wrong, but it was much later than that. I had to help out the boy that dragged Annabelle's unconscious ass in here."

"Geez you are tired, you might want to be careful about your language when 'The Pokemon Masters' start showing up."

"Hey, their parents let those kids into the outside world, they should just be glad Team Aqua isn't around anymore."

They were interrupted as Blake stepped into the lobby, he had showered and was wearing a fresh set of clothes, but it was obvious he wasn't yet recovered.

"Excuse me Nurse Joy, where is the breakfast buffet? I may need to eat it."

Slightly afraid that he actually would eat the entire buffet, she answered back, "It's directly to your left. Don't eat too much, you're still hurt and you don't want to get sick as well."

"Thank you. Have a nice morning." Blake answered, then grabbed five danishes and sat down a table.

"That kid looks familiar." Roxanne said, obviously trying to remember who he was.

"I wouldn't worry about it." Nurse Joy answered nonchalantly. "He probably was one of your challengers. Lots of people drop by for some of Devon's supplies. Besides, he was the one who helped out Annabelle. I'm sure if she didn't kick his ass he must be strong."

"That's the kid?!" Roxanne exclaimed. Blake heard the outburst and turned, confused. "Well, this is a weird day." Roxanne continued.

"You should be quieter." Joy said in chastisement.

"Sure thing potty mouth."

Blake had got up, grabbed another danish and walked over to the two ladies.

"Um, I hate to interrupt, but do you happen to be Roxanne?" he asked rather timidly.

"Yes." She paused as he somehow fit the entire danish in his mouth. "Yeeaah. And who might you be. You seem familiar."

After he swallowed the danish he answered, "I'm Blake. I went to your school for a couple years until my foster parents took me out. I came here to thank you for getting me interested in pokemon. I don't think I would have had as good of a childhood if I hadn't gone to your school."

Sudden realization dawned on Roxanne's face. "Holy shit. I can't believe this." she turned. "Joy, this is the kid that I had at my school that took on the top sixth year and beat him when he was only a second year. Then he went missing north of Rustboro on a family outing. No one could find him so he was pronounced dead."

"Oh, I remember that. You were so pissed off about that. I remember when you found out that you had filed a missing persons report before his parents had you just lost it. Suffice to say, a lot of newbie trainers came to me that year after Roxy handed their asses to them." This last comment was directed to Blake, and he was mildly concerned about the language Joy used.

"Yeah, well, now you can see why I ran away. Those parents sucked. But I got adopted by this nice ranger after I helped him out near Fallarbor. We had to get me pronounced alive first though. But hey, all's well that ends well."

"Damn." Nurse Joy said, "Your childhood was really fucked up."

"Oh yeah!" Blake exclaimed, "I met Lanette a little after I first ran off. She told me to give this to you."

Blake handed over a hard drive to Nurse Joy. She examined it carefully, then placed it in her bra. Roxanne sat completely stunned by what had just happened. Her coffee was cold now. She stood up.

"Well, I am not sure what the proper reaction is to all of this." she said. "But I have a gym I have to run and battling always helps me think. If you ever want to challenge or chat, I'm at the gym most days."

Roxanne walked out the doors. As the brisk air touched her face, she smiled. He was alive. And he hadn't changed a bit.

"Well, I hope you're okay by yourself because I should probably check out that flash drive you gave me." Nurse Joy said. She then got up, and left the lobby, heading into a tucked away door that was undoubtedly her office.

As the door closed, Blake went back to the breakfast bar, grabbed an assortment of baked goods, and went up to his room.


	4. Chapter 4

Episode 4

It was around noon when Annabelle woke up again. She felt refreshed, even if she was still groggy. She walked towards the bathroom, removing her shirt as she went. When she got to the bathroom she took off the rest of her clothes and took a shower. It was just what she needed, even if the water did sting the cuts she'd obtained from the Taillows. When she got out of the shower, she dressed and went downstairs.

The Pokecenter lobby was bustling. Kids of all ages were handing Chansey their pokemon to be healed, and there were groups of friends eating. Trainers were trading pokemon on the upper balcony, and there was a funny kid eating danishes and yelling at his Bagon. Slightly uncharacteristically, Nurse Joy was nowhere to be seen.

Annabelle walked up to the line at the front desk. She waited about five minutes until a Chansey was able to assist her.

"Hi Chansey, I'm Annabelle." she said, showing the Chansey her trainer card. "I was wondering if you'd healed my pokemon. I arrived last night and we were pretty beat up."

Chansey spoke a quick word of affirmation and ran off to get her pokemon. After Annabelle took her pokemon back she walked over to Blake, as she recognized him as the boy who had helped her before.

"Hi, I'm Annabelle." she said, as Blake shoved an apple danish into his mouth. She continued, albeit perturbed, "Thanks for helping me out yesterday. I owe you one. I didn't catch your name though."

"Bagon, gon gon bagon!" Akadra chimed in.

"No! I'm not telling her my name is John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. That's ridiculous."

"Bagon gon" she replied, disgruntled.

"Oh, sorry, I'm Blake, and this Bagon here is Akadra. I'm an intern for the ranger service and they've got a small base here. I was going to see if they needed me to do anything since I was coming down here to deliver a package to Nurse Joy."

"Nice to meet you. So, if you're here as a ranger, why aren't you checking to see if they have a job for you right now?"

"They're closed. Akadra and I went this morning. Apparently everyone available went on a mission to find a base of some team aqua upstarts. I'm going to check again tomorrow, but in the meantime I've got time to kill."

"Cool, well, I'm a local. I was going to see my dad's friend. He said it would be a good experience since I'm just starting my Pokemon journey. I don't think I'm strong enough to get to him though."

"Nonsense, those Taillow are uncommon in that area, they should be farther north. You just got unlucky. I'm guessing you took some berries that were in their territory. I just don't get why they attacked you for that long. Usually they'd just take your food, attack you until you started running, and then they'd cool off. The only reason they'd attack for that long is if they were afraid you'd attack them. Judging by the lack of charred Taillows, I'm fairly positive that didn't happen."

"Wow." Annabelle responded, "You are a nerd."

"Bagon bagon." confirmed Akadra.

"Oops, I started ranting didn't I?" Blake said.

"Yeah, yeah ya did."

"Oh well, anyways, if you want help getting to your dad's friend's house I can help you. I know the area from here to the desert pretty well. The path that goes through Fallarbor at least. Where does this family friend live?"

"Well, my dad says that it's north of the desert and west of Fallarbor. He said they have a house up past most of the Trainers at the edge of the desert. If I get lost he told me to talk to them."

"Oh, I know who you're talking about. I haven't actually met them before, but their pokemon wander occasionally. They have nice pokemon. And the pokemon like Mr. Hat Guy."

"Who's 'Mr. Hat Guy'?"

"That's what they call their trainer. He's married to 'The Mermaid'."

"How do you even know this? I mean, I can understand my pokemon's moods and it's more obvious tells, but you talk about pokemon as if you can actually understand them completely."

"Yeah."

"Wait what?"

"I can understand what pokemon say, I've had a Zubat my entire life, I learnt the basics from him. Then when I lived with pokemon for the last six years I learnt how to understand most pokemon. The one's that roar are hard though. I still mix up what they say sometimes."

"Well, this is great. I was saved by a looney who can talk with pokemon. You know, Devon would pay millions of dollars for you. Their latest efforts in pokemon translation were a bust. It ended up that they could only translate pokemon with the ability 'simple'. Porygon and Bidoof researchers are having some great breakthroughs though."

"Well, I'd rather not be a lab rat. Being able to understand pokemon isn't as good as it sounds."

"Whadya mean?"

"Said simply, they're either making sarcastic comments about you," he looked at Akadra, then turned back to Annabelle, "or asking if you have food. And let me tell ya, if I had food, it would not be there for much longer."

There was an awkward silence as Blake put another entire danish in his mouth. As Annabelle watched in amazement and disgust, Nurse Joy walked out of her office, and over to Blake.

"Um, excuse me Blake; I got a call from the ranger service asking me to get the closest rangers to check out some possible earthquake activity. You and another boy who checked in here are rangers, so I was wondering if you two would want to team up and check it out."

"Sure thing. After I finish that I can come back here and challenge Roxanne."

"Yes, and can you get this letter to Lanette as soon as possible?"

"Sure thing, but since I'm coming back you might want to keep that. I have a tendency of losing, burning, breaking, or blowing up stuff that people lend me."

"Of course; well, I hope to see you again soon." said Nurse Joy, and then walked to the front desk and began to help her Chanseys."

Blake turned to Annabelle, "Sooooo, I know it's not regulation, but if it's okay with my new partner, you could tag along to check out the earthquakes."

"Sure. I'll go get some supplies ready." she said, getting up and walking toward the stairs. As she approached the staircase, a high whistle pierced the air, and a guy blurted out, "Damn, check out that chick by the stairs."

In a blur of motion, Annabelle ran across the Pokecenter, heading straight for the guy. As she reached him, her arm flung forward, hitting him in the gut, and sending him flying into the wall. Annabelle glared at the gawking Pokecenter, then calmly walked to the stairs, and made her way to her room.

"Gon bagon." Akadra said to Blake

"Yeah, that time I was staring." Blake said back.


	5. Chapter 5

Episode 5

Blake had finished packing for the next day at about six thirty. The sun was still hanging in the summer sky, and the warm breeze was calmly drifting through the streets. Akadra was getting restless as she watched a group of Taillow fly above the buildings.

"Hey, do you want to go for a walk before dinner?" Blake asked Akadra.

"Bagon."

"You shouldn't be so grumpy. You'll get to fly too ya know. In the meantime we can head out west of town and use any Taillows we find as training partners."

"Bagon, bagon gon." Akadra replied, now much more excited about the idea.

"That's the spirit. Let me grab my fanny pack and we can head out."

As Blake almost fell down the stairs, Akadra jumping down after him, flapping her arms as she did so, a boy walked in, followed by a Marshtomp. He was shorter than Blake, but still tall. He wore a hat, worn from wear. and seeming fifteen years out of style, but it seemed to complete his image, with his short brown hair barely visible beneath it, and his glasses occasionally hidden under the brim as he walked nondescriptly towards Nurse Joy. He casually began talking, and Nurse Joy motioned towards Blake once or twice. Blake, trying to avoid human contact, slowly walked over to a corner, and nearly melted into the wall.

"Hi Nurse Joy." the boy began cheerily, "I was told you had information about a mission I'm supposed to go on. I'm Brandon by the way." he said, handing over his ranger ID.

"Hi Brandon." Joy replied, "Welcome to Rustboro. The ranger station told me to give you this." she handed him an envelope. "It has all the details about your mission. You're going to have a partner on this assignment."

Joy scanned the room in search of Blake, them muttered, "God dammit, where'd that little fucker run off to."

Brandon cringed as his image of all Nurse Joys shattered before his eyes. "Uh, are you talking about the kid that fell down the stairs?" he queried.

"Yeah, that's him. His name is Blake and he arrived last night. I don't know where he went though. He was just here."

As she was saying this, Akadra saw it as the perfect opportunity to annoy Blake. She quickly ran up to Nurse Joy and started pointing to Blake's location, trying hard not to laugh while she did so. Nurse Joy looked over to the corner, and called out, "Blake! This is the ranger I was telling you about. You two are going to be partners for your next mission."

At this, Akadra fell to the ground laughing, while Blake dismally walked over.

"You'll pay for that." he said to Akadra as he passed her. He then turned to Brandon in introduction. "Hi, my name's Blake. This satanic monster beside me goes by Akadra, but I'm thinking of stopping by the name rater so I can change it to Lucifer."

"Oh." Brandon replied, still not quite over Joy's colorful language. "Nice to meet you, I'm Brandon. This is my Marshtomp, Kai. I have a Poochyena and a Gardevoir, but Poochyena's tired, and Gardevoir doesn't like people."

"I can sympathize with that."

"Huh?"

"I don't like people. However, you seem okay. Anyways, I was going to go for a walk. If you want to join me I'd be glad to talk and get to know you."

"Sure." Brandon said, then turned to Nurse Joy. "Can you take care of my Poochyena while I'm out?"

"Of course." Joy replied cheerily, "It is my job."

Blake, Akadra, Brandon, and Kai arrived at the grass west of town as the sun was touching down over the trees. The Nincada were chirping loudly, and the Taillow were swirling through the sky. Akadra and Kai were battling playfully, and Brandon and Blake were exchanging stories of their time in the ranger service.

"Yeah, and then Ruru used Psychic to stop them." Brandon said, finishing his story.

"Woooow, tell me more about how you and your Gardevoir stopped the terrible Wurmple stampede." Blake replied sarcastically.

"Really? No one ever wants to hear more. I can't wait, after this I'll tell you about the Magikarp hordes." Brandon replied in sarcastic excitement.

"See Akadra." Blake said, "I told you that this person was nice."

Akadra tried to respond, but as she opened her mouth she got hit with Mud Shot. Akadra countered with a Dragonbreath, then started chasing Kai blindly with Headbutt.

"She agrees." Blake said, hoping that Akadra would say something and take another mouthful of mud. Sadly, Akadra wasn't that stupid.

As night fell, a still quiet fell with it.

"Well." said Brandon. "I think I'm going to head back. We have to wake up early tomorrow and Kai and I spent the entire day travelling."

"Alright. I might stay a little longer. I promised Akadra that we'd do some training and I just really like it out here at this time of night."

"Okay, see you tomorrow, I'll be ready at seven."

"Okay, see ya."

There was a flash of light as Brandon walked off, Kai's pokeball, calling him back. Akadra and Blake went deeper into the grass training under the light of the moon, a fat crescent, whose light shone bright above the cloudless sky. As Akadra trained under the starry sky, a sudden rustling caught her attention. She leaped, startling an injured Nincada, and causing it to burrow into the dirt. Blake looked, hearing Akadra cursing after faceplanting into the dirt.

"What's wrong?" Blake asked, walking over.

"Bagon, bagon bagon." Akadra replied, flustered.

"You need to calm down. You startled an injured pokemon. What did you expect would've happened?" Blake said, pulling a sitrus berry out of his fanny pack.

There was a quick scuttling as the Nincada came and grabbed the berry. It backed into its burrow. After a moment, Blake pulled another sitrus berry from his pack. As the Nincada grabbed the berry, Blake reached his hand out to comfort the pokemon, keeping it in sight the entire time. The Nincada flinched a little as Blake touched it, but didn't pull back.

"Hey little guy, what happened?"

"Nin, nincada, cada, nincada."

"Okay, so you got attacked all day by these meanies in blue bandanas. If you want you can come with me so they don't hurt you no more." Blake said in a comforting voice.

"Nin, nincada." it said.

"Well, okay. If you change your mind I'll drop by in a few days. I'm going to leave you some berries, make sure you eat all of them." he said, taking an arrangement of berries from his pack said and placing it on the ground in front of Nincada.

"Nin, nin." it replied cheerily.

The moon was reaching even higher into the sky, flooding the world with its pale glow. Blake walked away, calling to Akadra as he went. She hurried along after Blake, yelling a quick goodbye to Nincada. A silence fell as they walked off. The stillness of night had finally fallen. A stillness broken only by the footsteps of Blake and Akadra. As they reached the Pokecenter and Akadra rushed inside, Blake stopped and listened to the stillness, waiting for when it would end. The stillness had been there his entire life, and he was still waiting for it to end. He listened, waiting, and then went inside, hoping to get some sleep before the dawn of tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

Episode 6

Brandon awoke, the sound of the alarm clock in his ear. He sat up, blinking slowly. Still tired, he went downstairs to get a cup of hot cocoa to wake him up, Walking down the stairs, he saw Blake, shoving an entire muffin in his mouth. The sky was a dull gray-blue outside; the eastern horizon a pale yellow in preparation for the dawn.

"Morning Brandon." Blake said cheerily, then stuffed another muffin in his mouth. "They ran out of danishes so I had to settle for these. They're over there if you want any."

"I'm good." Brandon replied sleepily, heading towards the hot cocoa machine. "I'm not hungry right now and I still have some packing to do."

"Me too." Blake replied, then added, "Hey, I have a new friend that I met and I thought she could tag along if it was okay with you."

"Alright. It'll be nice to have some extra company. It's doubtful we'll actually do anything on this mission anyways."

"Yeah, just check out the earthquakes and calm down any distressed pokemon in the area."

"Uh-huh." Brandon said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Well, I'm going to finish packing and tell Annabelle that it's okay for her to come, see you at seven."

"Sure thing." Brandon replied, watching Blake dash up the stairs with an armful of muffins.

"That kid's weird." he said to no one in particular, with a comical grin on his face.

Annabelle, Blake, and Brandon were all down by six thirty. They chatted for a while in the lobby, then left a little before seven.

"Well guys, the earthquakes were said to be felt strongest just west of Mt. Meteor." Brandon informed the group. "We should be prepared. Since the earthquakes didn't show up on seismographs it is either caused by pokemon or people. If it's people we may need to battle them."

"Alright." Blake and Annabelle said in unison.

The group reached the north of town to discover a man in a blue bandana loitering by a waterside shed. As they approached, the man walk closer to the middle of the road. He slowly moved his hands toward his waist, placing them underneath his coat; on his belt. Blake was walking backwards, chatting with Brandon, and nearly ran into the loiterer.

"Hey kids." the loiterer said. "It's not safe up ahead. There've been a few earthquakes and no one is sure if it'll affect the pokemon of the rocks in the area. I'd turn around if I were you."

Akadra growled deeply at the way he said it. He said it in a voice meant to frighten people away, not in a voice of concern for their safety, checking to see that they were prepared. Brandon and Annabelle caught onto it as well, their hands drifted towards their pokeballs. Blake on the other hand, being as naive as a four year old, did not pick up on this note.

"Well thanks for the warning," he replied nonchalantly, "But we're actually working with the ranger service to investigate the tremors. If we find anything useful we'll come back and tell you so you can warn other people."

Dumbfounded, the man stood awkwardly as Blake began to walk past, then, remembering his job, he said, "Sorry, I really can't let you pass."

He took his hands from around his belt, grabbing two pokeballs as he did so, and threw tossed them onto the ground. As he did so, Akadra jumped between Blake and the man, ready to fight, and both Annabelle and Brandon through a pokeball into the air. Four flashes of light burst from the balls. The lights took the forms of their respective pokemon: Brandon's Marshtomp, Kai, Annabelle's Combusken, Torch, and the loiterer's two pokemon; Mightyena and Pelipper.

"Well, this isn't a fair fight." Blake said, standing awkwardly distant from everyone else. "Hey dude, if you have another pokemon send it out. Otherwise me and Akadra will sit out to make the numbers even on both sides."

"Whatever kid, I can take all of you with just one of my pokemon."

"I'll take that as a, 'I only have these two.'"

"Either join in or let us start fighting." Annabelle yelled impatiently.

"Geez, I'm just trying to be nice. I guess we're the refs then." Blake said this last part to Akadra, who made a disappointed sound. She had really wanted to battle.

"Alright, go Mightyena, use shadow claw; Pelipper, mist."

Mightyena jumped toward Kai, who dug underground to avoid the attack. As he did so, Torch leaped forward with double kick, per Annabelle's command, which did serious damage to Mightyena. As Mightyena clambered up, Pelipper's mist set upon the field. Kai took this chance to spring from the ground, hitting Mightyena right in the stomach. Mightyena hit the ground, completely knocked out.

"And Mightyena is out." Blake said, somehow able to keep track of the fight through the mist.

As Kai watched Mightyena return to it's ball, Torch began using flamethrower, which cut through the mist. As the mist began to clear, the group saw a possibly troubling sight: Pelipper was gone, and the man was gone with it.

"Well shit." Blake said. "Some people are really sore losers."

"Alright, think about this situation." Brandon said. "We arrived. He tried to scare us off. We wanted to continue past him. He attacks us with no warning. Do ya wanna try that again?"

"Bagon, bagon bay."

"Thanks." Blake whispered to Akadra; then to Brandon. "He's a bad guy."

"Nice work princesses." Annabelle butted in. "But we still need to find out what that creep's up to."

She called back Torch, then ran off toward Mt. Meteor. None of them know the danger that lies ahead, and Blake can be so stupid he probably never will. But regardless, the two boys charged after he, excited about the adventure to come.


	7. Chapter 7

Episode 7

Annabelle ran up the slope, searching the sky for any sign of the man wearing the blue bandana. Blake and Brandon were right behind her, their pokemon running at their sides. As they began nearing Mt. Meteor, the trees began to thin, and the terrain became much more rocky. Annabelle jumped on a large flat rock, the sides chipped from sliding down the hill at high velocity. She searched the skyline, then dismally plopped down, exhausted.

"They're gone." she panted, trying to think of another way to find the man. "If we had a flying pokemon we could get it to search the area."

"Yeah," Blake replied, "And if we search on foot it could take hours or even a couple days to find them."

Brandon was grabbing his knees panting, sadly not in near as good condition as the other two. His input was postponed for when he could breathe.

They sat for a while, reflecting on the possibility that their "simple mission" was turning into a much bigger deal. Brandon had caught his breath by now and turned to Blake.

"Hey, do you have a capture styler?" he asked.

"No. I'm guessing you don't have one either." Blake replied morosely

"No." Brandon said.

"Wait a minute, I'm confused." Annabelle chimed in, "I thought all rangers got capture stylers."

"Well that's what they say." Brandon began, "But both Blake and I are interns, and you have to get a paying salary to get a styler. They special order them whenever someone new joins on. This is so if someone breaks in and tries to steal any it's impossible. They're just too expensive to risk that happening."

"And a lot of the time the interns quit. They just decide that it isn't the job they want." Blake said, helping to clarify Brandon's point.

"Oh. Well that makes sense but it still doesn't help us." Annabelle said.

"I know, but we need to think of a way to find that ominous dude." Blake said, "It's too bad we're not in a city; I'm sure we'd find people able to tell us where that dude went."

"Bagon, bagon bay." Akadra said sarcastically

"Yeah, I can talk with pokemon. Is there a point to that statement or are we just telling weird facts about each other?"

"I think," Annabelle said, "that Akadra is saying that you could use your ability to talk to pokemon so as to question them on where that goon ran off too."

"Oh." Blake said, now realizing his obliviousness. "That makes sense."

About fifteen minutes later, Blake informed the others of the information he had ascertained.

"Well," he said, "A lot of the Taillow are saying that there are group of bandana wearing people that are west of Meteor Falls. The Tentacools have also noticed a group of submarines near there, and some Wingulls have seen boats there too. All signs say that's where the goon went. Since we don't have enough water pokemon to get us there by water, I suggest we head toward the cave entrance, then use the scenic ocean overlook to get part of the way there."

Annabelle and Brandon voiced their agreement. Then the group set off, the sun's early evening rays shimmering off of the distant water.

They walked along the scenic trail, each person lost in thought. Brandon was looking out at across the ocean, watching the sea slowly envelop the sun. He imagined the sun was melting, turning the water orange as it did so. He enjoyed the view, the romantic feel, but it was mildly shattered by imagining the adverse effects of trying to hold Annabelle's hand, as she was the only romantic possibility at the moment.

Blake on the other hand was jumping off of rocks with Akadra, leading the group forward. He fell down several times but never took a tumble over the small cliff to their right. As he leaped back and forth, Blake thought of the people who had fallen off that cliff, breaking limbs from the landing. Then as they sat on the shore, watching the sun taunt them each day, hoping someone would find them. But it was all for naught, they died, starving and dehydrated, the tides sweeping their bones into the ocean, to be snapped even more by the endless tides. Of course, this had never happened, the cliff being too small to cause serious injury, but Blake imagined it many times over, finding sadistic pleasure in his dark fantasy.

Annabelle's mind was neither dark nor romantic; as the others' were at this time. She was thinking of the man. He seemed familiar. It seemed to her like she'd read some sort of history about him. She thought and thought, desperately trying to uncover the source of this ominous deja vu. Eventually, she gave up. The only word that came to mind was "aqua". However, she dismissed this, casting her eye to the ocean each time she did so.

Night began to fall as they neared the west of Meteor Falls. They began to round the corner, seeing a congregation of boats near the shoreline, which jutted out away from the shore,

"Well, that doesn't look suspicious at all." Blake remarked.

"Yeah yeah, let's go kick their asses." Annabelle said, then ran past everyone, jumping off of the ridge, sliding down the slope, gravel flying from beneath her feet.

"Damn, she looks totally badass." Blake said.

"Bagon, bagon bay."

"I'm not staring!" Blake yelled.

"Yeah you are." Brandon said, in favor of Akadra.

"Shut up, let's go." Brandon said, running off, taking a less dangerous route down the slope. Blake took off after him, passing the more cautious Brandon. Akadra slid down, clambering recklessly after Blake,

When they reached the bottom, they saw Annabelle heading towards the boats. Running after her, Blake and Brandon saw two shady characters ducking into a cave.

"We should check that out." Brandon said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but we need to get Annabelle first. If we do any ass-kicking without her, she'll kick our asses." Blake replied, equally matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah." Brandon said. Then they both ran after Annabelle, refraining from yelling so as not to draw attention to themselves.

They ran up to Annabelle, who was very busy sabotaging as many boats as possible, pulling out wires from everywhere and kicking apart the throttle and steering.

"You know it would just be easier to break the motors." Brandon said to Annabelle as he arrived.

"How do you do that?" she asked, mildly preoccupied by a steering wheel giving her a particularly hard time.

"Well, Torch and Akadra could use flamethrower on them. I'm pretty sure that'd work out pretty well."

Akadra smiled evilly.

"Alright," Annabelle said, throwing her pokeball, "Go, Torch."

Torch sprang out of it's ball.

"Alright, use flamethrower on the boat motors." Annabelled said.

"You too Akadra." Blake said, "After you finish that, you guys meet up with us at the cave we saw earlier. Akadra knows where it is, so follow her Torch."

"Bagon gon"

"Combusken, busken"

Blake and Brandon ran towards the cave, Annabelle running after them after telling Torch to be careful. They reached the caves, which were guarded by two men in bandanas.

"Ready guys." Blake said expectantly."

"Yeah, let's whoop their butts." Brandon said.

"I'd prefer to kick ass." Annabelle retorted sarcastically.

The group ran toward the cave, the boys reaching for their pokeballs, and Annabelle taking a wooden practice knife from her pack. The guards saw them coming, and reached for a pokeball each, throwing them at the group.

"You guys battle the pokemon, I'm heading straight for those goons," Annabelle yelled running past Blake and Brandon. Blake and Brandon stopped quickly, each throwing a pokeball into the air.

"Go, Magik" Blake said.

"Go, Mimi" Brandon said simultaneously.

On the battle ground in front of them was Blake's Magikarp, Brandon's Poochyena, and the two goons' pokemon: Skitty and Jigglypuff.

As the battle began, both Skitty and Jigglypuff charged forward, both attacking Magik with doubleslap. Magik jumped up using splash to dodge, getting grazed, but avoiding most of the attack. It bounced off the ground, charging into Skitty with tackle, while Mimi bit down on Jigglypuff's bulbous form. Jigglypuff cried out in pain, trying to shake off the attacker. Then, it sucked in a bunch of air, throwing off the Poochyena. Jigglypuff floated into the air, then charged down with a body slam crushing Mimi. Meanwhile, Skitty landed a powerful doubleslap against Magik, who countered with flail, landing a massive hit on skitty, taking enough HP to knock it out. Skitty returned to its pokeball, its trainer being knocked to the ground by Annabelle, who'd already taken care of his partner. As Annabelle knocked out the trainer, Mimi was dodging another Jigglypuff doubleslap. She jumped to the side, then jumped forward, backing it into Magik's flail attack. In a flash of light, Jigglypuff returned to its ball.

"I wasn't expecting you to have a Magikarp." Brandon said, winded from the tension of the battle.

"Yeah," Blake said, panting, "It was the first pokemon I caught, I'm trying hard to get Magik to evolve. It told me that when it evolves it's going to help protect all of the Magikarp in the world."

"That's noble." Brandon said, as Torch and Akadra showed up, having finished their sabotage mission.

Blake called back Magik, and Brandon did the same with Mimi. Torch ran up to Annabelle, she asked it about its escapades, then called it into its pokeball.

"Alright," she said, "Now that everyone is here, we can check out this cave, and what it has to do with these suspicious people.

"I'm fine with that, but I have to gather some berries before we head in. It's good to be prepared. Ya know." said Blake, rather childishly.

"Fine, but make it quick," Brandon said, "we need to figure out what's going on as soon as possible."

As Blake dashed into the woods, searching for berries, the rest of the group set up a barricade at the entrance of the cave, making sure they'd get the drop on anyone coming in or out. The moon was rising over the peak of Meteor Falls, showering the landscape in a pale, silver glow. The mountain stood out ominously; dark against the endless night sky.


	8. Chapter 8

Episode 8

Blake ran through the woods, gathering as many sitrus and oran berries as he could. He also grabbed the pecha berries he ran across, and a handful of other kinds as well. Akadra had split off to gather some herbs; she had a better nose for them than Blake. As he ran, Blake mad careful not to awake the pokemon he crossed, or their shady looking trainers. He gathered a large amount of berries and began to head back to camp, making a short, sharp whistle as he did so. He arrived at the caves, the others looking expectantly, tense and focused, wanting to enter the cave. Akadra had already arrived, having heard Blake's whistle and departing for the cave when she did.

"That was faster than I expected." Brandon said.

"Yeah, but we still need to get moving right now. Sorry you can't catch your breath, but we do have a mission to complete." Annabelle said, subtly motivating Blake.

"You're right. Let's go." he replied.

The group began walking down the cave tunnel, trying to be stealthy. The cave sides were rough and jagged, showing that the tunnel was a very new, unnatural formation. They kept moving, conscious of every small sound; each one pausing at the sounds, their hearts beating faster from the ominous howl of the wind past the cave entrance. The cave began to smooth, showing that it was originally natural, but was covered, then unearthed just recently by whoever was frequenting this area. The caves began to open up, eventually ejecting the group into a wide cavern. They were on a large ledge, spiraling down to a carefully crafted maze, obviously as old as the caverns itself. Above were thousands of stalactites, each looked like they were giant fangs from a millennia year old beast. The dark recesses were quiet as they echoed back the steps of the travellers. The group stood for a while, stunned by the beauty of the cave, but soon their attention turned to the voices rising from below.

"I told you, we need to find a way out of here! Now, either get us to the other side of the maze, or leave and stop slowing us down." a voice said, quite angry with the man in question.

A quiet reply echoed through the caverns, "I'm s-sorry. I-I don't know how to get through these c-caverns. I'm j-just an archaeologist. I know how to study these mazes, and the writing throughout them, but I d-don't know how to get through th-them."

There was silence for a moment, followed by a quiet, enraged voice.

"I know what an archaeologist is," the voice said, "I'm just struggling to see the relevance in your last statement. You told us you could guide us through, but if you can't, I suppose we're just going to have to think of something to do with that daughter of yours. My men have needs you know, but we're willing to let her go if you can get us to the oceanus chamber."

There was a grunting of approval by some men. Afterwords, silence returned, only broken by the sound of footsteps hitting the stone floor. Blake, Annabelle, and Brandon exchanged glances, knowing that any verbal communication would give away the element of surprise, then set off toward the maze below them. When they arrived at the maze, Blake whispered something to Akadra who then set off running, sniffing the ground as she went. Blake ran after her, the rest of the group following behind. They wound through the maze, never hitting a dead end. They would stop every so often, each time they did, they heard the footsteps get louder, until they could hear the labored breathing of a few heavier set men. They slowed down, hoping to follow them silently for a while longer, and not wanting a battle in this cramped maze.

After a while of following, they heard the archaeologist pipe up, "There, I delivered you to the oceanus room. A deal's a deal, when we get out of here you set my daughter free."

"Thank you," replied a voice, "We will release your daughter, however, if we ever need your services again, we will come for them. You know what we're capable of, don't make any rash decisions."

Annabelle jumped into the view of the group they were following, her hand clenching the pokeball she'd taken from her waist.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she screamed at them.

The same man answered. He was tall and skinny, wearing a blue jacket with an "A" over each breast pocket. His brown hair was suavely unkempt, but despite this clean look, his eyes were a dead, dark brown, telling of his uncaring for others.

"Well," he said, "It's a bit informal of a question but I suppose I can answer it. We as a group are the new Team Aqua, working to learn more about Kyogre so as to control it when the day comes for its awakening. I myself however, am known as Aaron. I am chief admin under the great aqua leader. I am in this particular cavern to discover the best way to unleash Kyogre upon the world. Now, your turn. Who are you, and are you going to interrupt me?"

Brandon and Blake stepped into view, each of them holding a pokeball. Akadra stood in front of Blake, flames curling from her mouth.

"Well," Blake said, "Originally we were here to investigate the mysterious earthquakes in the area, however, I presume that was the dynamite and drilling technology used to get into this cavern. Anyways, now that we've figured that part out, we have a little time to kill before we get back, and I need more of a challenge than those guards out front."

"Yeah," Brandon said, trying and failing to be intimidating.

"How quaint," Aaron replied, "Just because they beat a couple low life grunts they think they can get to me. Well, that's too bad for you, if these top grunts can't take care of you, then I'll do it myself, but try to be quiet, I do have some research to do."

As he said this, the four grunts that were accompanying Aaron threw their pokeballs. A Seviper, Lairon, Lunatone, and Loudred took the field. Annabelle threw her pokeball as they did, then Brandon threw his with Blake, as Akadra unleashed a flamethrower into Loudred. Torch quickly jumped into action as it hit the ground, leaping over to Lairon and immediately KOing it with double kick. Brandon's Gardevoir, Ruru, took the field, using psychic on Seviper. As Loudred recovered from the flamethrower, Magik slammed into it with tackle, while Akadra took down Lunatone with bite. Lunatone shot off an ice beam, hitting Ruru just as she KOed Seviper. As the blast hit Ruru, she cried out, then returned to her pokeball, frightened by the incident. Torch used the confusion of the fight to get behind Loudred, unleashing a powerful double kick on it as Magik used tackle once more. Loudred fell to the ground, quickly followed by Lunatone, taken down by Akadra's dragonbreath.

The grunts called their pokemon back, stunned by how quickly they had been defeated. Blake called back Magik, but Annabelle left Torch on the field.

"Alright, you won." one of the grunts said to Annabelle, who was glaring at him ferociously with the help of Torch.

"Well, that battle was quicker than I expected." Aaron chimed in. "Luckily, I wasn't counting on these grunts winning so I have enough photos of the writing of this cave to study later. However, I do feel it is my duty to put you vigilante dweebs in your place."

"Wow," Brandon said, unable to stop his mouth, "Dweebs is the best insult you have. For shame; fooor shaaaame."

"You'll be the ones ashamed when I crush your pokemon so badly that they can't even leave their pokeballs without hurting themselves."

"See, that was a bit better," Blake said, "It had a good quantity of voice with a classic evil henchman ring to it."

"Oh yeah, totally." Annabelle said.

Aaron, only slightly fazed by their banter, threw three pokeballs into the air. As they hit the ground and the pokemon appeared, Blake cringed, seeing near certain defeat in the combo of pokemon. In front of them was a Skarmory, a Glalie, and a powerful Swampert. Blake threw out Magik, and Akadra jumped onto the field. Torch was thrown out by Annabelle, and Mimi, Brandon's Poochyena came out as well as Kai.

"Brandon," Annabelle said, "Can you send out Ruru? She'd be really helpful right now."

"I'm trying, but this situation isn't her forte." Brandon said.

"Well it doesn't seem to be a forte for anyone else either." Annabelle responded, exasperated.

"Oo oo oo! I think I've got the answer." Blake said excitedly.

After a moment of staring at Blake, who seemed to not understand the tense situation, but was just trying his damndest to relieve the tension, Brandon replied to Blake's outburst.

"Sure, go ahead." He replied, a note of contempt slipping into the voice.

Blake slid his glasses up his face, then began his tangent.

"Well, as you two know, Gardevoir is a psychic pokemon who has deep connections to emotions, being able to sense any emotion from anyone. It also appears that Ruru has a timid nature, especially timid considering she returned to her pokeball in fear after one low powered hit from ice beam when she obviously has a high special defense. With these two factors taken into account, I can safely assume that Ruru does not want to leave her pokeball due to her previous frightening moment and the extreme fear and apprehension that we've been feeling ever since that Aqua guy sent out his incredibly overpowered pokemon."

Blake nearly collapsed, gasping for air, as there was no pause for breath during this tirade of facts. Aaron looked from behind his pokemon, mildly impressed.

"Wow," Brandon said, "You totally nailed that."

Blake tried to thank Brandon, but his need for oxygen was still too much, so he settled for a thumbs up and continued gasping.

"Oh." Annabelle said, now understanding, kicking herself for not having noticed Ruru's dilemma.

"Well, isn't that touching, but aren't you forgetting something." Aaron said, "Come on, I feel lonely over here. You should be more considerate when you have company."

Blake responded totally straight faced, "One, you're an asshole. Two, you're really strong. Three, I personally have been stalling, trying to find a way out of this, so, you haven't been forgotten; you've just been micromanaged a bit. Now," Blake turned to Annabelle and Brandon, "Does everyone remember plan C?"

"Yeah, it's not that hard of a plan to remember." Annabelle said.

"Okay, let's instigate that right NOW!" Blake said.

Torch used smokescreen, then all the pokemon returned to their pokeballs as the group took off running into the maze, letting it guide them without direction.

As the smoke cleared in the oceanus cavern, Aaron smiled. "Well," he thought, "They're smarter than they look. Most of my quarry just charges head on. Well, at least this fight will be interesting."

He jumped onto Skarmory, calling back his Swampert and Glalie before doing so.

"Grunts, escort the professor out of here. I'll handle the children, if you run into them," he tossed one a knife, "use this to get past them. I'm certain they wouldn't dare put the professor at risk. Understand?"

"Yes sir!" they responded.

"Good." Aaron said, letting Skarmory run through the cavern's opening. Skarmory launched itself into the air, searching for the band of kids. It circled through the air, its wings cutting through the air as easily as it could through the human skin.

"Well this sucks," Brandon said, "We can't fight him while running because we don't have a pokemon with good enough typing who can outmaneuver his Skarmory. And we can't fight standing still because then he can send out Glalie and Swampert to completely crush our pokemon."

Annabelle and Blake nodded in agreement as Aaron spotted the running trio.

"Times up kids," he yelled, "Are you going to stop or am I going to have to come get you?"

"Well I can see you like flying types, so here's a gift from me to you." Blake yelled back as he flipped him the bird.

Skarmory's speed increased as it descended nearer, but its wings were too wide to fit in the maze. It flew slightly behind them, tracking their movements.

"Guys," Brandon yelled forward to Blake and Annabelle, "I can't keep this up. We either need to stop, or I'll hold him off while you guys keep running."

"Just keep coming, I think we're almost there." Blake yelled back.

"Almost where?" Annabelle said.

"I don't know, but I saw this route a little while back. The ground is really worn down and smooth here so I think it was walked on a lot before this place was buried. If we keep going we should reach wherever this leads."

No one responded, but they all hoped Blake was right, as Akadra was now running behind Brandon; she had decided she'd guard whoever fell down first, and Brandon was really close. Blake took a sharp right, seeing a flight of stairs, leading even farther underground. Brandon and Annabelle turned the corner, seeing the stairs as well, picking up their pace. Blake stopped at the top of the stairs, ready to possibly hold off Skarmory as Brandon and Annabelle got closer. Skarmory was right behind them, and it suddenly pulled up, dropping Aaron on the ground as it did so. Brandon and Annabelle tumbled down the stairs. Akadra moved to stop by Blake's side, but Blake shoved her down the stairs, her momentum carrying her. "Alright," Blake thought, " everyone should be safe, now let's see Aaron's next move and whether I need to join them or fight it out to give them some time."

Aaron sauntered forward, tossing a pokeball up and down in his hand.

"So, now that you've got your friends in a safe place, what are you going to do? You've only got that puny Magikarp left. By the way, its nickname, it's just adorable. I mainly just find it adorable that all of you name your pokemon."

"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm waiting to see what you do before I make my decision."

"See, that's the problem with the world, it's just like you; reactive. The new Team Aqua plans to be proactive, unleashing Kyogre to expand the oceans and put everyone at risk. We'll dash in, taming Kyogre and becoming heroes, as the world bows down before our power."

"Huh, ambitious." Blake said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, you need to work on your responses to evil monologues, even if that was a short one, your response needs a bit of work." Aaron replied. "Anyways, I'm going to completely crush you now."

Aaron threw his pokeball onto the ground in front of him. Out came an enormous Aggron, its armor stained a red brown in some places, presumably from blood. It's claws were immaculate though, helping to show off how deathly sharp they were.

"You like steel types. Good to know." Blake said, then he tossed a smoke ball straight into Aggron and ran under the cover of the smoke. He nearly tumbled down the stairs, as there was no lighting down farther. The previous cave had large glowing stones embedded in the wall, providing an eerie yet relaxing light, but down here, there was no light whatsoever, and the only way he could tell he was nearing the bottom was by Annabelle's and Brandon's arguing.

"We should go up and help him!" Annabelle yelled defiantly.

"No, we need to explore this, it could lead to a way out." Brandon replied.

"Actually," Blake yelled down, "We need to start running again. This guy's even stronger than I thought. His Swampert wasn't even his strongest pokemon. He's got an Aggron up there who wants our heads. I suggest we start running. I also suggest each of you should take one of these."

Blake pulled four glowsticks out of his pack. He snapped one and hung it around his neck, then gave one to the others while he snapped one for Akadra. As Blake placed the glowstick around Akadra's neck there was a loud roar above them, and the light above became blotted out. They ran away from the stairs as a pile of rocks blocked their one known exit.

"Well," Blake said, "We're only dealing with rocks. There's no hard place as well."  
"Fuck you." Annabelle said, then began walking off.

"Hey, where are you going?" Blake asked.

"To find an exit." she replied grumpily, then added, "Are you coming or do you just want to stand there until that Aaron guy changes his mind and decides to finish us off himself?"

Blake and Brandon ran after her, the glowsticks bouncing on their chests, casting an eerie glow upon the underground tunnel.


	9. Chapter 9

Episode 9

Aaron stood over the stairs, enjoying the destruction his Aggron had caused, the rock slide bringing a sadistic joy over him. Aggron stood next to him, surveying the destruction with the same joy.

"Well," he said, "That showed them. They'll never get out now."

"I kind of doubt that," a voice behind it said, "Judging from their earlier tenacity, I they'll come back for more when they see you again."

Aaron turned around, seeing a very formal looking man, with spiky gray hair, a black and purple suit, and a stunning red tie. He reached into his suit and pulled out a pokeball, dusting some dirt off his suit as he did so.

"And who might you be?" Aaron said suspiciously, "Nice style by the way."

"Thank you," he replied, "And my name is Steven. What's yours?"

"I'm Aaron. Now, are you going to do anything, because I don't have time for small talk. If you want to battle, I'll gladly destroy you, especially since I didn't even get an attack off against those kids before they ran."

"Well, if it's a battle you want," Steven said, throwing his pokeball, "It's a battle you'll get."

Aaron's Aggron turned, seeing another Aggron appear from Steven's pokeball. Both glared at each other when they saw each other, their territorialism filling the air with tension. Despite the contempt between the Aggron, the contempt between the two trainers seemed to be even stronger.

"So," Aaron said coldly, "You're a fan of steel types as well."

"Yes I am. I also enjoy using ground and rock types, although if you were a little older you'd probably know that already." Steven replied, then added drily, "Or even if you cared about recent history."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know too much about thirty year old hermits." Aaron chided sarcastically, then yelled "Now, Aggron, iron tail."

Aaron's Aggron lunged forward, charging towards its foe. As it neared, it twisted its body, letting its momentum flow into its tail, preparing to deliver a devastating blow. Right before its tail slammed into its foe, Aaron's Aggron's tail was suddenly grabbed by Steven's Aggron, using the energy of the foe Aggron's charge to send it flying over its shoulder, crashing into the maze wall. Aaron's Aggron began to rise, only to smashed as Steven's Aggron crushed it using body slam, then transferred directly into a thunderbolt. Aaron's Aggron couldn't take it, returning to its pokeball as it was knocked out.

"I'm guessing that was your strongest pokemon." said Steven, calling back Aggron and putting its pokeball back in his jacket.

"It may have been my strongest, but that doesn't mean I'm hopeless because I lost with it, or are you forgetting type matchups?" Aaron replied, throwing his Swampert's pokeball as he did so.

Swampert took the stage. Steven had already chosen his pokemon and threw a pokeball into the air, watching as Cradily appeared. Swampert quickly began, using water pulse, but Cradily attacked with giga drain as water pulse moving towards it. Water pulse hit, showering Cradily and Steven in water, but neither seemed fazed as Cradily's giga drain took hold of Swampert, knocking it out in one hit.

"Now, if you don't leave right now, I'll actually start trying. I have some children to meet, and I don't like being late for my meetings." Steven said, with equal parts of formality and intimidation.

Aaron stood horrified for a moment. He debated whether he should try to recruit this powerful trainer, but quickly deciding not to, becoming even more unnerved as Steven glared at him, waiting for him to move. Aaron bolted away, as he rounded the corner he threw a pokeball into the air and jumped on to Skarmory as he appeared. Steven watched as this unfolded, then threw out two pokeballs. Metagross and Aggron appeared, waiting a command.

"Metagross, take those rocks from the bottom of those stairs and return them to their original position. Aggron, once the rocks are in position, use our flamethrower to weld them together."

After the two pokemon finished their task, Steven returned them to their pokeballs, then quickly descended the stairs. At the bottom he threw another pokeball, and a Vibrava appeared before him.

"Vibrava, use your wings to follow any vibrations from a large group"

Vibrava's wings vibrated as it sensed the vibrations moving through the air, then it dashed off, flying down the tunnel's, Steven sprinting behind it, flashlight in hand.

Annabelle had hit yet another dead end, but had to wait for Blake and Brandon to catch up. They'd already been down three different dead end tunnels, and the other two were running out of energy. She looked down the tunnel, as the light of three glowsticks moved closer. As they moved closer, Annabelle saw that Akadra was riding on top of Blake's shoulders as he jogged down the tunnel. Blake and Brandon arrived, both out of breath.

"Relax, it's just another dead end. We'll never get out of here." Annabelle said sadly.

"Wow, pessimistic much?" Blake said.

"I get cynical when I'm hungry, and I don't think I can eat my way out of here."

"Well well well," Blake said, "I guess you guys should be thanking me now for gathering all the berries I've got. Of course neither you or Brandon helped, so I may just eat all of them myself. BWAHAHAHAHA!"

Brandon and Annabelle looked at Blake quizzically. Blake continued laughing evilly. Brandon and Annabelle kept staring. Blake quickly took what looked like a pokeball from his fanny pack, then tossed it on the ground. An array of berries spewed from the strange pokeballs.

"What is that?" Brandon asked, extremely curious.

Blake grabbed a Kelpsy berry before responding. "It's a berry ball. Lanette gave it to me. It's a prototype an old friend gave to her. Someone whose last name is Stone. She said I should take it to Devon corporation. That's one of the reasons I went to Rustboro."

"Wow, that's pretty cool." Brandon said.

They sat for a while, talking and eating, letting their pokemon out to join them. Akadra and Kai began playing, as if they hadn't stopped from the east of Rustboro. Torch grabbed a handful of berries, then went off to the end of the tunnel, training against the wall. Mimi ran after her, sniffing her feathers and occasionally nipping at her heels. Ruru grabbed a berry and then sat behind Brandon, trying to avoid attention.

` Blake began to clean up, since everyone seemed to be done eating, when all of a sudden, they heard the smashing of rock as one of Torch's kicks smashed a hole in the wall.

"Torch!" Annabelle yelled, "You shouldn't break ancient ruin maze wall. But good work. You're getting stronger."

Mimi stuck her head through the wall, then pulled it out.

"Pooch, poochyena." she barked.

"That's weird." Blake responded.

"What?" Brandon replied curiously.

"Mimi says that there's a room in there that has no other exits or entrances going into it." said Blake, then reiterated, "It's an empty room with no way in or out."

"Well that's not suspicious at all." Annabelle said.

"Alright, everyone, time to place your bets!" Blake yelled out, "We've got 2 to 1 odds on 'It's a trap!', 5 to 1 on 'secret shrine' and finally we have 300 to 1 on 'geologic anomaly'."

"You're so weird." Brandon and Annabelle said.

"Compared to who, how many normal people do you know?"

"Good point." Brandon said.

The hole in the wall, made by Torch's training, wasn't big enough for anyone to get through. Torch loosed a few strong kicks on the well and Akadra headbutted it as well. The hole in the wall widened, making it big enough to walk through.

"Well, that's one more thing off my bucket list. Desecrating random underground tunnel shrine." Blake said, then made a checking motion in front of himself.

"So," Brandon said, "Since, Blake was the one who suggested this could be a trap, I suggest he go in that room first."

"I'm so fine with that." Blake replied, "I doubt that there's a trap anyways, especially since we completely broke down almost an entire wall and nothing happened.

Annabelle and Brandon watched as Blake stepped through the hole in the wall. He walked over the rubble, gingerly stepping into the room. Brandon and Annabelle watched in apprehension, as Blake walked through the room, then hopped around the room, and began walking like a dinosaur and roaring.

"What the fuck?" Annabelle said.

Blake stopped, straightened his shirt, then walked over to Annabelle and Brandon.

"We should be good." he said nonchalantly, then walked back into the room.

"Uh, maybe we should just leave." Brandon whispered to Annabelle.

"It's fine with me." Blake said in response to Brandon's comment.

"How?" Brandon said.

"Heh heh, you'll never know."

At that moment, a Vibrava zoomed into the room, frightening everyone and causing Ruru to return to her pokeball. It hovered in the air for a moment then was called back to its pokeball. They watched as Steven stepped walked toward them, his flashlight making it impossible to see him clearly. Steven observed the hole in the wall, then gingerly walked into the room with Blake, panning his flashlight around the hidden room.

Abruptly, Annabelle asked, "Who are you?"

"My name's Steven, I've been exploring these tunnels for about four years now. I was working with the archaeologist you met earlier. We were trying to find this room. I followed you here when you ran from that team aqua goon. I'm sorry I couldn't make it sooner, but I was curious as to how you'd act."

"Oh." Blake said, "Well you said you explored this place, so where are we? And is what we did considered desecration?"

"It's called 'The Palace of Jirachi'. It was made in honor of Jirachi a little over a thousand years ago. Jirachi woke from its slumber, and came to Meteor Falls, granting the people who lived here with three gifts. This chamber tells what those gifts are, and where to find them."

"Wow." The group said in unison.

"Well, can you tell us what it says?" asked Brandon.

"Be patient and I might tell you." Steven responded

Steven began scanning the chamber's walls, reading the text engraved upon them. Luckily, the wall the children had broke had contained no writing, apparently meant to be the entrance. After much reading, Steven reached into his Jacket pocket and produced a notebook and pencil, which he quickly began writing in. After Steven finished his notes he turned to the three trainers.

"Return your pokemon to your pokeballs and follow me. I'll take you to the exit. After we get there, I'll recount what this chamber says. I need to make sure we get out of here safe before we do anything else though. These caves have been put under a lot of stress by team aqua as we, I ask you to speak as little as possible, as any vibrations may cause a cave in. Understand?"

Annabelle and Brandon nodded their comprehension.

"Whatever you say Mr. Stone." Blake whispered, winking as he did so, knowing the former champion's secret. He smiled charmingly to show he'd tell Steven how he knew later.

Brandon and Annabelle didn't catch this as they set off down the tunnel, the strange man walking in front of them, fingering the berry pokeball prototype that Blake had slipped into his pocket when he had been studying the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Episode 10

Steven walked out of the cave, the sun glaring harshly in his eyes. He observed the forest in front of him, searching for any sign of a team aqua ambush. As he scanned the trees, his hand moving involuntarily to his jacket pocket, Blake, Brandon, and Annabelle walked out of the cave, glad for the guidance that Steven had provided.

"Hey," Blake said, "I know where this is."

"Really?" everyone else said in reply.

"Yup. This is a small forest to the west of Meteor Falls." Blake said, "I figure we're at the lowest point. I had no idea there was a cave here."

"All true," Steven said, "Now, I may need to explain that cave to you; as I promised."

The group nodded, their curiosity piquing their interests, fueling their desire to know what they'd discovered.

"As I said before, it is known as Jirachi's Palace." Steven began, "I had been looking for it after I'd finished my advanced training. I used to be the champion, and I believe some shady characters may have infiltrated the elite four, so I need to regain the title. Anyways, that's all you need to know about me. The writing upon the cave wall told of Jirachi's three gifts. It told that every thousand years, it gives three gifts to three children born on its awakening. One of these gifts is the gift of extreme psychic power. It is said the power always varies with the wielder, and no two psychics have had the same powers. The psychic has a special link with pokemon, and finds it easy to communicate with any of them. The psychic can also use their power without a psychic pokemon to channel it, and it is said they can nullify psychic energy. The second gift is the power of auras. Known as the Aura Seer, the wielder of this gift has the ability to see, and even manipulate auras with proper training. They can use their aura to protect themselves and heal others, and people and pokemon with pure auras are attracted to them, as the Aura Seer can do no harm unto others. The third gift is known as The Fortress. The Fortress always has a suitable weapon for any time, and the information of how to use it. It is strong and dependable, never falling during battle. And it has the power to strengthen others to around it, strengthening their willpower, giving them power to fight in the toughest of situations. Those are the three gifts, the information on The Fortress was a bit worn, so my details might not be totally correct."

Blake, Brandon, and Annabelle sat before Steven, lost in thought. Each one was around the proper age to receive a gift. They were curious, could any of them have received these gifts, and was it even possible that these gifts existed, and probably most unanimous was the question of how no one had noticed Jirachi giving a fortress to a baby. They tried to wrap their heads around this, then gave up.

"So Blake," Steven said, "How'd you know I was the former champion?"

"I used to live with Lanette before I was adopted. You dropped by sometimes on your trips to Meteor Falls. She told me who you were."

"That explains a bit, but what about this berry pokeball you handed me."

"Oh yeah, the berryball, my dad had it, he said he'd confiscated it off of a thug in Slateport. I showed it to Lanette on my way here and she told me to show it to "Mr. Stone" or "The Devon Corporation"."

"Well it's interesting, do you mind if I look at it back in Rustboro? I'll return it before I leave town again."

"Sure."

"Um, excuse me." Brandon said formally, "Could you tell us some more about what happened with Team Aqua? For such a strong group I haven't even heard of them before."

"Yeah," Steven replied, "I was able to help break down their empire sixteen years ago, but apparently they're trying to form up again. Last time they didn't know the full potential of Kyogre, but I think this time they do, and they want to release it upon the world. The man you met, Aaron, is a top ranking member of the pokemon fan club. He used his fame and money to get his more radical followers to join team aqua. Team Aqua still isn't organized enough to be a major threat, but I feel they have enough key pieces that it's not going to be that way for long. I advise the three of you to either stay out of their way, or know that you'll need to train to be able to take them on. And I assure you, someone will get hurt, make sure it's not you."

Brandon looked horrified at what Steven had told him. Blake had been playing with Akadra, but both had stopped when the magnitude of the information came down on them. Annabelle punched a rock in anger. It broke. Her hand didn't.

"I'm sorry I'm a bit of a downer, but truth is my policy." Steven said, "Now let's get moving, you have a mission to report on."

They arrived in Rustboro as the dinner rush was setting in. Steven bid farewell to the group, then disappeared into the crowds of people, rushing to their destinations. The group dropped their pokemon off at the pokemon center, grabbing a little food, then went to the Ranger HQ to report on their mission.

"Hey boss." the scrawny desk clerk yelled back as the trio arrived.

The head of the branch walked into the room and stood expectantly, waiting for their report.

Blake stepped forward.

"Sir, we would like to report that the earthquakes in the area were caused by the drilling into an ancient cavern by Team Aqua. We followed the tunnel system to find an Aqua superior studying what he called the Oceanus Chamber. We tried to apprehend the Aqua superior, however he was really strong. After we were defeated, a stranger came and defeated the Aqua superior and them left the cave. We exited and reported back here. Also, we gained assistance from our friend Annabelle, who would like to apply for internship as a ranger. If she is accepted, we would like to form a ranger group."

The boss listened intently to this information, then whispered something to the desk clerk.

"Excuse me, I have to make a few calls." he said, then left the room.

The desk clerk chimed in, "Annabelle is it? If you could please fill out this paperwork, afterwards you'll most likely be accepted as an intern. In the meantime," she leaned towards Annabelle to whisper this part, "Keep those two boys out of trouble. They get into more than anyone else."

"That we do." Blake said casually.

"How?" the desk clerk interjected.

"You'll never know. Heh heh heh."

As evening set over Rustboro city the trio headed back to the pokemon center, Akadra running to meet them. They bought some food at a nearby convenience store and settled into bed, the past two days having been rough on them.

Night descended upon Rustboro, and everyone was asleep except for Blake. Night always seemed to make him restless, and the silence he always felt was stronger during the night. He quietly got up, grabbed a handful of sitrus berries, and left the pokemon center.

His bare feet brushed through the cold grass, as he wandered through the rocky fields west of Rustboro. It was quiet and calm. Blake moved over to a rock and sat down, placing the sitrus berries at his feet. He was tired, tired of being alone, and tired of walking through a life of stillness. He never felt joy when others did, but put on a facade to convince others, and himself, he was happy. It was just too damn silent. He watched as all kinds of pokemon slowly approached him, then took a berry and ran off. He watched the grass rustle as a Nincada slowly walked toward the berries. It's face lit up with recognition. Blake sat as the Nincada grabbed a berry and walked up to Blake offering him the berry, whispering to him, "You'll get better if you eat this. Just like I did."

Blake smiled, the creasing of his face causing a tear to drop onto Nincada's back. He grabbed the berry and quietly ate it, watching Nincada lay down on his lap, and gently fall asleep. Then he walked back to Rustboro, the Nincada nestled against his shoulder, his arms supporting its fragile body.


	11. Chapter 11

Episode 11

Annabelle woke up early, despite wanting to sleep in late. She quietly cursed her ability to wake up at the same time each day while she showered and got dressed. She walked out of her room to get a cup of coffee and some food.

"Morning Annabelle, how may I help you?" Nurse Joy said while Annabelle quietly padded down the stairs.

"I'm doing fine Nurse Joy." Annabelle replied groggily.

"That's good," Nurse Joy said, "I'm going to play tetris again now, if you actually need anything, feel free to ask."

"Sure thing." Annabelle said, then made her coffee and sat down.

She watched the sunrise as she drank her coffee, waiting for the caffeine to kick in. It wasn't a beautiful sunrise, but Annabelle enjoyed it, seeing the faint glimmer of the sun through the foggy streets. She grabbed her pokeball and set it on the table in front of her. She looked at it, imagining what Torch was doing in their. She let out a sigh. It had been about a while since their last successful battle, and Torch was getting discouraged. They both wanted to be the best fighting specialists, but Annabelle was wondering if she should branch out, as it wasn't working out with just her one pokemon. She wanted Torch to get better, and she trained alongside him, trying to get her fighting skills better as well, but Torch never seemed to be able to win.

"Watcha thinkin about?"

Annabelle jumped in her seat, startled by the intrusion.

"Nurse Joy, you scared me." Annabelle replied.

"I'm sorry," Joy said sympathetically, "but I still want that question answered."

"Just some casual pondering. Mainly about training." Annabelle said.

"Well, make sure you stick at it. This first part's the roughest, but if you really love training and travelling with your pokemon, it'll improve drastically."

"How did you know I was thinking about that?" Annabelle asked, just as startled as when Joy had intruded the first time.

"Come on," Joy said, "I see that face all the time. Usually it's kids who get beat by Roxanne. I tell that to every kid who has that look on their face. And I do it because it's the truth."

"Thanks Nurse Joy, you helped a lot."

"Well, that is my job, helping whoever needs it."

Joy walked back to her desk, trying to look productive while she continued playing tetris behind the desk. Annabelle put Torch's pokeball back on her belt and walked outside. Time for some training, she thought to herself.

Steven walked along the shoreline, his Aron following him, looking for any interesting stones. While Aron stopped to sniff at a Clamperl, Steven examined the berryball Blake had given him. It was marvelous. When the trainer threw it, all the berries stored inside would come out, and if you only wanted a few, you could take what you wanted and return the rest. It did have its limits though. It could only store one hundred of any random assortments of berries, and two hundred and fifty of just one kind of berry. Still, it was a work of genius.

"Aron. Ar ar." Steven's Aron barked up at him, holding a pearl that the Clamperl had given him.

"Thanks Aron, but you can keep that one if you want."

Aron tucked it into his armor, running off toward a small cave after it did so. Steven turned back to the ball. It was incredibly similar to a pokeball, in that it broke down living tissue, then shrunk it into the ball's environment, but with the berryball, it had a super slow time schedule, and it could gather more berries when it already had some in it.

Steven whistled to get Aron's attention, "Aron, come on, we're heading back. I need to check to see if I can replicate this back at Devon."

Aron ran back, carrying a rock. It was mossy and damp, but not valuable.

"Good work." Steven said, "That one's perfect for your collection isn't it."

Aron smiled up at Steven, glad that Steven liked the treasure he had found.

Annabelle was sweating, and you could see the outline of her bra underneath her tank top. Three boys had noticed and were jawing about it and whistling in her direction. She casually walked up to them, and they started nudging each other in anticipation.

"Hey gorgeous." one said, eyeing her over obtrusively.

"Oh please." She said, moving her hands behind her back, in a childish, flirtatious way.

"What, I like what I see." he responded, preparing to speak again when Annabelle kicked him in the gut, her arms still behind her back.

"Jesus Christ!" one of the other boys said as his comrade fell to the ground.

Annabelle's eyes flicked towards him, his outburst catching her attention. She jumped into him, her shoulder catching him in the chest. As he began to steady himself, Annabelle's knee jerked up, hitting him in the groin. He yelled out in pain, then fell to the ground. Annabelle turned, seeing a stain appear on the third boy's jeans as he watched his friends writhe on the ground.

"Take care of this one Torch." Annabelle said.

Torch sprang into action, glad to have some easy training as a break from Annabelle. He quickly kicked and charred the third boy until he fell onto the ground like the other two.

"Good work Torch." Annabelle said, as they walked back to their training spot in the park.

Officer Jenny walked to the boys, took a picture, and then wrote about them provoking a female, and the results of the provocation, then walked away, winking at Annabelle as she did so.

Annabelle grabbed a razz berry from a nearby bush.

"Alright Torch, snack time." she said. "But first, you have to take this berry from me."

Blake woke up, Akadra nustled up on top of his chest, while Nincada was latched on tightly to his face.

"Fuck." he mumbled, realizing that getting out of bed today would be a bigger ordeal than he was expecting.

He tilted his body toward Akadra's feet then scooted away, getting slightly out from under her. He tried this two more times, now nearly free from her dead weight. He scooted once more, then, desperately tried to move back, as he felt him fall into the empty space where the bed ended. He fell onto the floor, Nincada still clinging tightly to his face.

"Ooooooowwww." he said, as Akadra rose from her slumber and looked at Blake inquisitively.

Blake pried the still sleeping Nincada from his face, and saw Akadra's expression.

"Don't give me that look or I'll be forced to put you in a pokeball." he said grumpily.

"Bagon, bagon bay." she replied.

"Hey, just because I've used that threat before doesn't make it less real." Blake said defensively.

"Ninca, cada nin."

"Wow, now you're teaming up on me. I see how it is. Well, there's only one solution to that."

He paused, Nincada and Bagon looking expectantly at him.

"Tickle fight!" he yelled, then began chasing the two pokemon around the room with reckless abandon.

Brandon watched Annabelle walk into the Pokemon center, sweat covering her shirt. He was studying different ruins and civilizations that were in Rustboro a thousand years ago when she sat at the table.

"Hi." he said, not looking up the computer screen, and opening u[ another tab so as to look up information on Jirachi's gifts.

"Hey," she said, taking a swig from her water bottle, "Watcha doin?"

"Researching." Brandon still didn't look up from the screen, but decided to move the conversation away from himself.

"You know that everyone can see your bra under your tank top" he said.

"Yeah, but if anyone starts looking too hard they'll be seeing stars pretty soon afterwards."

"Charming." Brandon said, still looking at the computer, and trying to ignore the hormone rush he was getting from being able to see her bra. "God I'm pathetic." he thought.

"Sooo, whatcha researching?" Annabelle said, breaking his train of thought.

"Different civilizations from a thousand years ago and the Jirachi's gift thing." Brandon replied, glad that she was interested, but also concerned he'd nerd her out.

"Ah." she said.

Brandon looked at the computer screen, his thoughts running through his head. "She's not even my type, why am I so concerned about this." and "Wow, she looks hot with her mildly- see-through-because-of-sweat shirt." were but a couple.

Annabelle looked around the room in search of food when Blake walked down the stairs, He waved excitedly at his friends while walking over, Nincada clinging to his back and Akadra walking behind them. He walked toward Annabelle and Brandon, tripping on a chair and nearly falling, then finishing the walk with no further clumsiness, sitting down next to Brandon.

"There's a chair over there." Blake said, indicating the one he tripped on.

"No shit sherlock." said Annabelle.

"And I can see through your shirt." Blake said awkwardly.

"Well aren't you perceptive." Annabelle said sarcastically.

"Will you two be quiet." Brandon said, "I'm trying to study."

"Oo oo oo, can I see?" Blake said, craning his neck to see Brandon's laptop screen.

As Blake moved his head toward the screen, Steven walked through the doors and over to the three teenagers.

"Come with me." he said.

The group walked through Devon, a very odd sight to behold. Annabelle was behind Steven, her shirt still translucent, Brandon followed, taking pictures of the experiments like they were exhibits at a museum, and Blake pulled up the rear, continuously dragging Akadra away from test pokemon and researchers, while trying to keep up with the other three people.

They walked through a door, and into a dimly lit corridor, filled with all kinds of rocks arranged in every which way. Some were normal river rocks, but they were arranged so beautifully that it was impossible to tell, while others were beautiful crystals, with lights shining below them, making them glow brighter than the moon. But the grandest of all were the arrangements of evolutionary stones. They were all shapes and sizes, but each arrangement looked like a habitat built specifically for the pokemon they evolve.

"Impressive, right?" Steven said giddily, "My office is through those doors, please, join me."

They walked into the brightly lit room. They covered their eyes, the sun's glare on the windows hurting them.

Steven walked over to a leather chair and sat down,


End file.
